Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

CloudPrime Connect ("CloudPrime," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of our customers, website visitors, and business partners. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of the Republic of South Africa, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA), and other applicable data protection laws. By using our website at cloudprime.co.za, our services, or interacting with our AI chatbot, WhatsApp gateway, or any other CloudPrime service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, you should discontinue use of our services immediately.

2. The Information Responsible Party

In terms of POPIA, CloudPrime Connect is the designated Responsible Party for the processing of personal information described in this policy. For any privacy-related inquiries, exercise of your data subject rights, or complaints regarding the processing of your personal information, please contact our Information Officer at the following details:

3. What Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you use our services, communicate with us, or interact with our website. The types of personal information we may collect include:

• Identity Information: Full name, surname, and company name when you sign up for services, submit a contact form, or interact with our AI chatbot.
• Contact Information: Email address, physical address, telephone numbers (mobile and landline), and WhatsApp number used for our gateway service.
• Financial Information: Bank account details, payment card information processed securely through PayFast or other PCI-DSS compliant payment gateways. We do not store full card details on our servers.
• Technical Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and browsing patterns collected through cookies and similar technologies on our website.
• Communications Data: Records of customer service interactions, support tickets, chatbot conversations, and call logs generated through our CloudPBX and AI Receptionist services.
• Service Usage Data: Information about how you use our services, including call duration, data consumption, feature usage, and service configuration preferences.

4. How We Use Your Personal Information

We process your personal information for the following legitimate purposes as permitted under POPIA:

• Service Delivery: To provision, maintain, and manage your CloudPrime services including AI Receptionist, WhatsApp Gateway, CloudPBX, Business Fibre, and AI Chatbot services.
• Account Management: To create and administer your client account, process orders, generate invoices, and manage billing through WHMCS.
• Customer Support: To respond to your inquiries, troubleshoot technical issues, process support tickets, and provide after-sales assistance.
• AI-Powered Interactions: When you interact with our AI chatbot or AI Receptionist, your conversation inputs are processed by our locally hosted AI models to generate relevant responses. This data is not shared with third-party AI providers.
• Communication: To send you service notifications, account alerts, billing reminders, marketing communications (with your consent), and important updates about our services.
• Security and Fraud Prevention: To monitor for unauthorized access, detect fraudulent activity, and protect the integrity and security of our systems and your data.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and regulatory requirements in South Africa.
• Service Improvement: To analyse usage patterns, improve our services, develop new features, and enhance your overall experience.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under POPIA, we process your personal information based on the following legal grounds: consent provided by you for specific processing activities; processing necessary for the performance of a contract with you; processing required to comply with a legal obligation; processing necessary to protect your vital interests; processing for legitimate business interests that do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms. When we rely on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us, though this may affect the continued provision of certain services.

6. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

• Service Providers: Trusted partners who assist us in delivering services, such as fibre network operators, payment processors (PayFast), and hosting providers. These partners are contractually bound to protect your data.
• EspoCRM Integration: If you interact with our sales chatbot, your contact details may be stored in our EspoCRM system for lead management purposes.
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or governmental body.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the successor entity.

7. Data Security Measures

We implement robust technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include SSL/TLS encryption for all data in transit, secure server infrastructure hosted in South African data centres, role-based access controls limiting who can access personal information, regular security audits and vulnerability assessments, encrypted database storage, firewall and intrusion detection systems, and secure disposal procedures for data that is no longer required. While we strive to protect your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or method of storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. Active account data is retained for the duration of your service relationship. Upon service termination, account records are retained for a minimum of three years for tax and legal compliance purposes. Chatbot conversation logs are automatically expired after two hours and only summarised topics are preserved for session continuity. Service usage and billing records are retained for five years in accordance with South African tax regulations. You may request earlier deletion of your data subject to any legal retention requirements.

9. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Correction: Request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information.
• Right to Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information where it is no longer necessary or lawful to retain.
• Right to Object: Object to the processing of your personal information based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to Restrict Processing: Request that we limit the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability: Request your personal information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw any previously given consent for the processing of your personal information.
• Right to Complain: Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at admin@cloudprime.co.za or +27 10 110 8466. We will respond to your request within 30 days as required by POPIA. If we are unable to fulfil your request, we will provide reasons and inform you of your right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and collect analytical data. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for detailed information about the cookies we use, their purposes, and how you can manage your preferences. Essential cookies are required for website functionality and cannot be disabled. Analytics cookies track website traffic and usage patterns to help us improve our services. Preference cookies remember your settings such as theme selection (dark/light mode).

11. AI Chatbot and Automated Communications

Our AI-powered chatbot and AI Receptionist services use locally hosted machine learning models (Ollama) to generate conversational responses. When you interact with these services, your conversation inputs and any personal information you share are processed by our AI models. Your conversations are not sent to external AI services or cloud-based AI providers. Chatbot conversations are stored temporarily in your browser session for continuity and are automatically cleared after two hours. Lead information (name, email, phone) collected through the chatbot is stored in our CRM system for follow-up purposes as described in this policy.

12. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we discover that we have collected personal information from a child without parental or guardian consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our systems.

13. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including our client management portal at manage.cloudprime.co.za and payment gateway. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit through links on our site.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on our website with a revised "Last updated" date. Your continued use of our services after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact us: